Brazilian side Guarani held a ‘funeral’ at half-time to celebrate rival club Ponte Preta’s relegation to the second division of the Sao Paulo state championship.
Guarani lost 2-0 to Botafogo-SP at the Estadio Brinco de Ouroon on February 7, but their fans’ celebrations during the interval were recorded and posted to social media in a video that has been widely circulated on X.
During half-time, with Guarani 1-0 down, the stadium announcer asked fans to turn on their phone flashlights before the stadium lights went out. The announcer then revealed that Ponte Preta had been relegated from the division, leading to racuous cheering and applause around the ground.
With fans jubilantly celebrating their rivals’ relegation and waving their illuminated phones in unison, The Last Post played to compound Ponte Preta’s misery and the ‘funeral’ concluded with a firework display.
A rivalidade em Campinas tá como? 👀
No intervalo do jogo do Guarani, no último sábado, o locutor do estádio anunciou a derrota da Ponte Preta, que decretou seu rebaixamento para a Série A2 paulista. Depois, as luzes do estádio foram apagadas e rolou até marcha fúnebre. pic.twitter.com/c3Ly2AKw8O
— O Canto das Torcidas (@OCantoOficial) February 11, 2026
The Campeonato Paulista Serie A1 is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo.
Ponte Preta were relegated to the league’s second division after a 2-0 defeat to Portuguesa on February 7. Guarani also beat Ponte Preta 1-0 on January 31 thanks to a 92nd minute goal from Hebert, despite playing the majority of the match with 10 men.
Guarani secure “local bragging rights for the foreseeable future”
“Attention fans! Turn the lights on your phones on!”
To the uninitiated, it might have looked like the start of a half-time show. Yet there was no stage set up on the pitch at the Brinco de Ouro stadium, nothing to look at. The announcer wanted just wanted the atmosphere to be right, for there was news to celebrate.
Guarani, the home team, were playing Botafogo-SP in the local state championship. There wasn’t much riding on the game. Elsewhere, though, things were happening. Things were happening to Guarani’s biggest rivals, Ponte Preta.
“A final score from the Sao Paulo state championship,” hollered the announcer as the floodlights dimmed. “The game is over at the Caninde. Portuguesa 2-0 Ponte Preta!”
Brazilian football can be a blood sport. Local derbies frequently get nasty. The country is so big, its love of football so universal, that there are probably 30 raging, historic rivalries you’ve never even heard of. Guarani vs Ponte Preta, the derby of Campinas, a commuter city to the northwest of Sao Paulo, is one.
Saturday night underlined the fact. That defeat against Portuguesa relegated Ponte Preta to the second division of the state championship. At the Brinco de Ouro, the Schadenfreude was right there on the surface.
As the sea of flickering lights swayed, the PA system played The Last Post. The picture was complete: Guarani were staging a funeral for their old enemies. And then, to really rub it in? Fireworks. Loads and loads of fireworks, clearly prepared in advance for this very outcome.
Guarani went on to lose the game against Botafogo. Local bragging rights, however, are theirs for the foreseeable future.